Wire installation at building work sites is normally done in three steps. First, the electrical conduits and boxes are installed to the frame of the building. Then, wire is pulled through the boxes and conduits. Lastly, the wire is cut and fixtures and terminals are connected to the wire. It will be appreciated to those skilled in the art that these three steps require a substantial amount of labor which in turn reflects on the overall cost of accomplishing a wire installation job.
In my previous invention, U.S. Pat. No. 5,509,671, (hereinafter referred to as the '671 patent) the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference, I disclosed a portable cart for carrying multiple spools of wire which substantially reduces the labor required for the step of wire pulling, and therefore the overall cost of accomplishing a wire installation job. The portable cart organizes multiple spools of wire and provides for easier transportation and dispensing of the wire spools. Several conductors of wire can easily and simultaneously be pulled from differently sized spools held by the cart. Electricians have found the cart to be very beneficial as it reduces the number of trips between storage locations and work-sites. The number of man-hours and cost of wire installation are also greatly reduced through the use of the '671 invention. The invention has also eliminated or reduced the number of wire spools laying around a work-site which can be hazardous or inconvenient to workers in the vicinity.
While the '671 patent has been met with considerable commercial success and has reduced the labor costs associated with the wire pulling step. A need currently exists for an apparatus to hold tools and associated materials such as switches, switch plates, receptacles, and the like on the cart and in so doing further reduce the time required for the wire installation job. Electricians currently need to make multiple trips around the work site or to storage locations to locate the necessary tools and materials necessary for completing the installation. This results in less than efficient work which increases the labor costs associated with a wire installation job.